We are asking for your support for the Korean Refugee Adoption Act of 2010. This act, if passed, would push the Secretary of State to create a plan to more effectively allow Americans to adopt North Korean refugee orphans in China and other neighboring countries.

Sang Man (Sam) Han-Schneider (Han-Schneider Foundation) was separated from his family in 1950 at six years old during the outbreak of the Korean War. In 1961, Dr. Arthur Schneider adopted Han-Schneider by means of the private bill S.1100, which allowed, for the first time, a bachelor to adopt and bring a foreign child to the United States. This opportunity inspired Han-Schneider to work with his children’s foundation and Suzanne Scholte to write an act that would eventually bring North Korean orphans to the United States.

Most North Korean children are not given the chance to be healthy and grow up in a stable home. They are often sent to prison camps and lack the nutrition needed to grow and develop at their age. Statistics show that on average, North Korean girls and boys are three inches and five inches shorter than South Korean children, respectively.

Many flee to China and neighboring countries, where they are still not safe, as most are sold into sex slavery and forced onto the streets as beggars. Right now, it is extremely difficult to bring these children to the United States. For example, earlier this year, three orphaned North Korean children (siblings) wanted to come to the United States, and a Caucasian family on the East coast decided to bring them to their home. However, they are still in the process of legally transporting the children to the United States, which can take up to several years. The Adoption Act would create a plan to effectively allow Americans to adopt North Korean orphans and raise them in a nurturing environment.

This is not just an adoption issue or a Korean and Korean American issue. This is an issue about human rights. These children do not receive the love, care, safety, and protection they need, and adoption by American families would provide that to them.

Please support this act and the freedom and new life it would bring to North Korean refugee children.